“The air is thick with mystery, escapades which may or may not end well and a book that appreciates the dwindling forests and wildlife that we are left with.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Many of us must have paced up and down our rooms, locked down within the four walls of our apartments much like a caged tiger these past 18 months, at least. This time Anjana Basu has written about one such tiger, an adolescent cub, probably unable to fend for himself, who is being starved by a bunch of rogues.
The cast of characters remain the same as the other books in the series, the sylvan surroundings of a small village somewhere in the Himalayas is untouched by civilization – cows are herded by young boys and although the heroine Manjul does have a cellphone around which her adventures are woven – forms of address are still the traditional “Manjul ki Ma” or Mother of Manjul and have not evolved into the smarter Chinky Pinky nomenclatures a la Bollywood.
We are reminded that ‘human vanishings, unlike wildlife vanishings are more complicated’. And there are problems everywhere, as there are helpful ghosts, including a familiar shade – that of Jim Corbett (Carpet Sahib). There is also a derelict hunting lodge which may or may not be haunted by ghosts but definitely a hangout of gruff, unshaven characters. There are adults like the Khan Sahib who keep an eye out for adventurous children. Rohan’s mother keeps reminding him about homework, while he uses school tasks as an excuse to have more adventures.
The air is thick with mystery, escapades which may or may not end well and a book that appreciates the dwindling forests and wildlife that we are left with.
Reviewed by: Vijayluxmi Bose
Added 17th November 2021
